Sermon
Be prepared
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Leave your Bibles open where Amish just read to us.
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And I'm going to pray.
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Lord Jesus, as we come to your word
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and as we think again about your coming again,
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open our hearts to you
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and help us to live our lives in the light of your coming
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and to see what your coming means for those who are safe in you.
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Great joy, great security
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and help us to rejoice in what we see in here tonight.
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In Jesus' name, Amen.
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I had a pretty low day the other day.
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I had a moment where I was desperately in need of God's wisdom
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and I think also wanting a sense of his nearness and his care.
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You know, you hit a low spot,
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you almost want to feel God's there as well as know God's there.
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And I went to a quiet spot.
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In fact, I went up to the foyer at church.
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Nobody was around.
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And I sat there to pray.
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And the best I was able to do was pray,
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Lord, please give me wisdom and love.
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That was about as big as the prayer got.
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I needed God's presence.
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I couldn't feel it.
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And then I phoned a friend.
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And he was wisdom in the flesh for me.
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I don't know how I really expected God to answer my prayer,
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but I tell you that he did it in a way that was really simple.
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He answered it in the person of my friend,
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whom I call wisdom personified.
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In fact, my wife knows who this man is
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because I said to her,
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I prayed to God and then I rang wisdom personified
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and she knew exactly who I rang.
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And in that moment,
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I take my friendship with my friend as God's blessing to me.
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I was reassured about the presence
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and the protection
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and the purposes of God in the person of my friend.
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Life this side of heaven
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is sometimes very difficult.
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And I guess when I talk to church family even tonight,
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each of us are walking in a different place
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and a different moment
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and experiencing different things.
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So some of us will be sitting here thinking,
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it's pretty cool at the moment,
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it's pretty great
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and it's coming up to Christmas
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and I'm going to get all the things I wanted.
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And that's for you.
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But there may be another one or two amongst us
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who are really struggling at the moment
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for whatever reason.
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And when life is difficult,
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I think that's when we really want to pray
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the last words of the Bible,
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which are,
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come Lord Jesus, come.
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Come back again, please Lord Jesus
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and wrap this whole show up
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because it's just not that cool
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being here at the moment.
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I want to say tonight
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that the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
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is an essential part of Christian understanding
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and it helps us to wait
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and make sense of the very imperfect world
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which we're living in at the moment.
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I'm preaching this short series
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on Jesus coming,
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the return of the Lord Jesus.
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I spoke about it last week
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and went to three passages,
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a few different passages,
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some in John's Gospel,
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some in 1 Thessalonians
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and some in Acts chapter 1.
Acts 1 chapter mention
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And I said that Christians believe
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very distinctive things
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about life after death.
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We believe in the resurrection of all people.
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We don't believe in reincarnation.
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We don't believe in endless cycles of life.
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We don't believe that you can come back
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as a flea on a dog's bottom.
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And we don't believe in annihilation,
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back to dust with no further consequences.
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We believe that people cannot escape
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the ultimate justice of God
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by dying out of this world.
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And we believe in the resurrection
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to face the judgment of God
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and of ultimate accountability.
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We believe in the justice of God
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which does not allow us
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to escape responsibility.
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And we believe in the mercy of God
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in the Lord Jesus Christ
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which allows us to stand safe
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at his judgment.
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We do not have to fear
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the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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So Jesus' second coming
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from a Bible point of view,
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it is certain,
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it will be sudden,
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it will be seen by all,
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it will happen
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when his father says it will happen.
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Nobody can predict the moment.
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So when somebody tries to,
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somebody puts a date
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on the coming of Jesus,
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somebody says you can be slow,
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it's not coming yet,
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or it's going to happen next year
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on such and such a date,
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I want you as Christian people,
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as my brothers and sisters
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to be able to just say
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straight out rubbish.
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It's nonsense.
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Even if it's the most well-meaning
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and well-intentioned person.
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What do I say to them?
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Rubbish.
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Because the scripture says otherwise.
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All people will be raised
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to face the judgment of God.
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Jesus' coming will mean
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that judgment and destruction
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for those people
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who have rejected him,
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but joy for everyone
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who trusts and hopes in him.
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So to have your name
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written in the Lamb's book of life
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means that you will be safe
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on the day of his coming.
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I'm particularly preaching tonight
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about Matthew chapter 25,
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verses 1 to 13.
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Jesus tells a story
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about 10 virgins
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waiting to meet a bridegroom
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and to escort him
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to collect his bride.
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That doesn't sound very good,
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does it?
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I think the virgins
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are the bridesmaids
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and they're waiting
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for the groom to come
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and to collect his bride.
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I've preached this passage before
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and I was going to preach it,
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not I haven't preached it here,
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I've preached it in another place,
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and I was going to preach it
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unchanged for the night
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and I got it out
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and I thought,
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oh, this is easy,
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easy work of preparation,
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I've done this before
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and as I started to read
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over the work
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that I'd done before,
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I realised I'd done
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a really lousy job last time
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and I hadn't understood
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the passage properly
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and all of a sudden
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I had a workload
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which I didn't expect
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and I want to say to you tonight
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that I think I've learnt some things,
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I think I've got better
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in understanding the passage
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but I don't think
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I've got it perfect,
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so if you're sitting there
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reading the passage
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while I'm speaking to you tonight
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and you see some things in it
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and you go,
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aha, tell me about it afterwards
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because we don't see everything
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every time we get up to speak.
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You can't understand this passage
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without understanding
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Matthew chapter 24
Matthew 24 chapter mention
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which is immediately before it
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and Matthew 24
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is a notoriously difficult chapter
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of the Bible to understand.
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So the people of the first century,
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the people that this was written to
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were like some of us,
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they were living at a time
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when God hadn't spoken
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for a long time,
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maybe 500 years
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since one of the prophets
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had spoken.
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There hadn't been a word of God
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for a long time
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and there was this growing expectancy
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that God was going to turn up
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and show his face.
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some people were expecting
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the coming of the Messiah,
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the King
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and they associated his coming
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with the end of time,
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one coming,
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one end.
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So when the Messiah comes,
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that'll be the end,
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it's all wrapped up.
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We're a bit the same.
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We're looking for one more coming
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of Jesus
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and we associate his coming
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when he comes again
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with the wrapping up of history
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as we know it,
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the end of the world,
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one more coming,
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one end.
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Jesus lived in revolutionary times.
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You find this out
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when you read the New Testament.
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People were anticipating a king
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who would lead them to glory,
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who would reestablish
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the kingdom of David
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with all its magnificence
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for a thousand years before.
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A king who would drive
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the pagan Romans
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out of the land
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of God's promise
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and there were false Christs
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in Jesus' day
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who were going to lead
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God's people to glory.
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You can read about them
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in the New Testament.
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Two of them are mentioned
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in Acts chapter 5.
Acts 5 chapter mention
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They were Jewish revolutionaries.
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Their names were Thutis and Judas,
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not Judas who was Jesus' disciple
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but another Judas.
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And both these men
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led uprisings
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of several hundred men
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against the Romans
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and these movements collapsed
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when their leaders were killed.
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So kill the leader,
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the movement collapses.
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Jesus was executed
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in an environment
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where he was seen to be
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a threat to national security.
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He died
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and the movement around him
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didn't collapse,
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it grew.
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When Jesus was on trial
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before Pilate,
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the Jewish leadership
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whipped up the crowd
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to demand the release of Barabbas.
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Set Barabbas free.
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Don't set Jesus free.
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Set Barabbas free.
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We want him.
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And Barabbas was
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a murderous insurrectionist.
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When Jesus was arrested,
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Peter drew his sword
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straight away,
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didn't hesitate
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and cut off the ear
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of the high priest's servant.
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Great stroke.
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Magic to see.
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Because he was expecting
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to have to swing his sword
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in following his king,
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Jesus.
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These were all people
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who were expecting
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to use weapons
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to help God achieve
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his purposes.
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They had preconceived ideas
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about what the coming
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of the Messiah
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would look like.
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And that's why
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so many of them
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had no idea
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that it was even happening
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when it was actually happening
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because they had
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such another idea
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in their head
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about what would happen.
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even Peter.
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And what you see here
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is that God
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is very active
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in his work
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in a way
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that they cannot see
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and is not yet understood.
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So Matthew 24
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begins with Jesus saying,
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well, it's all over
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for the temple
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and it's all over
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for Jerusalem.
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The disciples
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are with Jesus.
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They're travelling.
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They're marvelling
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at the cityscape.
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I did it yesterday.
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We went,
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by the grace
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of some of our friends here,
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we went and saw
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the Messiah
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in the Sydney Opera House
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yesterday afternoon,
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Kerry and I,
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with a few of you.
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Who else went?
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Look at the hands going.
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It was the
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Foo Club.
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The Foo Fan Club
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because we were supporting
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Chrissie Fulcher
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who was singing
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in the chorus.
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And, you know,
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the city skyline
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is pretty magnificent,
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isn't it?
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You can sit on the northern
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side of the harbour
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and you look across the city,
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you see the Opera House,
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it's silhouetted
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by the bridge down this side
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and the high-rise buildings
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on the other side
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and you can go sometimes,
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oh, wow,
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isn't it awesome?
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And that's what these guys
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did outside Jerusalem.
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They're travelling
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with Jesus,
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they're looking back
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at Jerusalem,
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they're seeing the walls
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and the temple
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and the other buildings
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out there
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and they're saying,
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it's awesome, Jesus.
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And Jesus says,
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it's up for demolition.
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It's all coming down.
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And in AD 67,
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the Roman army
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came in
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and totaled the city.
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And 600 years later,
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Muslims built a mosque
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on the side,
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the third holiest shrine
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in Islam
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and it's been
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the most contentious
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piece of real estate
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in the world
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ever since.
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A temple
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hasn't been rebuilt.
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Why wasn't a temple
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rebuilt?
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Why doesn't a temple
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need to be rebuilt?
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Help me out.
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Help me out.
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God is everywhere.
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We are the temple
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of the living God.
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So why do we need
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a temple rebuilt
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to sacrifice animals
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over and over again
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to God
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in worship of him
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when we have had
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the one true sacrifice
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for sin
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that Romans describes
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in the person
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of the Lord Jesus
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step onto the stage
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of the world history?
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So Christians
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who want to bring
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a temple back,
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we need to be able
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to say to them,
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rubbish as well.
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There's two rubbishes
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tonight.
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If you go to the chapter
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before,
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Matthew chapter 23,
Matthew 23 chapter mention
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Jesus actually brings
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the curtain down
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on the whole
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of the Old Testament.
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He says these words,
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O Jerusalem,
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Jerusalem,
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Jerusalem,
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the city that kills
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the prophets
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and stones those
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who are sent to it.
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how often would I
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have gathered
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your children together
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as a hen gathers
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her brood under
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her wings
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and you would not.
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Your house is left
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to you desolate
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for I tell you,
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you will not see me
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again until you say,
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blessed is he
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who comes in the name
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of the Lord.
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Jesus has told
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parables
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about the rejection
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of God's messengers
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and ultimately
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God's son
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and a new age
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is coming
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and a new dawn
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is about to begin
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and so in chapter 24
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verse 3,
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he sat on the
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Mount of Olives,
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the disciples
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came to him privately
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and they said,
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tell us,
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when will these things
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be and what will be
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the sign of your coming
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and of the close
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of the age?
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So you get
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information here,
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you see that Jesus
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is alone with his disciples,
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he's teaching them privately,
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this private teaching
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goes on through
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the whole of chapter 24
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and the whole of chapter 25
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and his close friends,
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his disciples,
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his followers
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have got two
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really big questions,
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when and what?
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When will these things
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happen?
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And what will be
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the sign of your coming
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and of the close
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of the age?
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How will we know
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that it's about to happen
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so that we can see
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it coming and be warned?
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They have this mindset
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that the coming of Jesus
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means the close
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of the age,
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for them the end
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of history is upon them
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and they want to be
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ready for it.
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And the first question
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has an easy answer,
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chapter 24 verse 36,
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concerning that,
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this is Jesus speaking,
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concerning that day
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and hour,
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no one knows,
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not even the angels
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of heaven
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nor the son
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but the father only.
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Only the father
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of God in heaven
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knows when this
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is going to happen,
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not even me.
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And then in verse 44,
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therefore you must
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be ready
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because the son of man
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is coming at an hour
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when you do not expect.
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And so the easy answer
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is be ready.
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My father is the only
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person who knows
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the timing,
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it will be sudden,
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it will be unexpected
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and if anybody else
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has got a suggestion
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about the timing,
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just forget it.
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They don't know.
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But the second question
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is much harder.
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It's a really good question
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but they're asking it
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with wrong expectations.
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They don't yet understand
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that Jesus will come twice.
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All the end time expectations
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which they're expecting
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to happen right now
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aren't going to happen
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just right now,
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they're going to be spread
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over time.
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Not everything's going
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to be completed
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with Jesus' first coming.
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It's a brand new idea
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and it's never been
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on their radar before
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that Jesus might come once
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and then he might come again
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or the Messiah,
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the King might come once
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and then he might come again.
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And so Jesus tells them
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things about the destruction
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of the temple,
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many false Christs,
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wars, famines,
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persecution of believers
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to death,
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sun, moon and stars
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not giving light,
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the abomination
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of desolation
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standing in the temple.
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And in verses 34 and 35
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he says,
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I tell you the truth,
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this generation
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will certainly not pass away
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until all these things
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have happened.
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And he's saying
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that there are events
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of cosmic consequence
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in the life and times
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of the current generation.
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You're living in them
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at the moment
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to the people back there
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2,000 years ago.
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They're happening
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with this current visit
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of God to his world
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and in the person
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of his son,
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the Lord Jesus Christ.
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You have to move past Christmas.
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Christmas is nothing
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compared with what
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Christ is about to do.
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It's a great time of the year
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but in terms of what
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Christ is about to do,
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it's what he's come to do
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and who he is
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which is really important.
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We move beyond
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the baby story
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to the glory of Christ
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and the kingship
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which he's going to exercise
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and he's particularly
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going to exercise
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that cross,
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that,
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that,
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his kingship
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on a hill
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outside of Jerusalem
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when he gives his life
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for the sins
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of anybody
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who would trust in him
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and when God vindicates him
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by raising him
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from the dead.
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And the Bible says
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that this is a climactic event
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with cosmic consequences.
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What Jesus is doing
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back there
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has implications
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for the whole of history.
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That's how big this event is.
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I think when Jesus died
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on the cross
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that was the abomination
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that causes desolation.
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There is nothing
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that has happened
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in the whole of human history
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which is as gross
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as what happened
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to Jesus on the cross.
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Because we,
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the people that God has made,
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even the religious leaders
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of his own time,
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the people who were supposed
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to protect religion
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and the temple
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and keep it holy
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and all those things
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seized God himself
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with their own hands
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and tried to destroy him
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as ridiculous
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as that is.
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That is an abomination.
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So Jesus is also preparing them
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for an intervening period
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and another coming.
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In chapter 24,
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verses 39 to 44,
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he says,
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keep watch
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because you do not know
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on what day
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your Lord will come.
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But understand this,
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if the owner of the house
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had known
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at what time of night
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the thief was coming,
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he would have kept watch
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and would not have let
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his house be broken into.
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If the thief had made
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an appointment,
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the owner of the house
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wouldn't have got caught out.
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So you also must be ready
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because the Son of God
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will come at an hour
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when you don't expect him.
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God's not going to make
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an appointment
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for you to look forward to.
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There will be another coming.
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There will be a delay
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between the two
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and that is where
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the story of the wedding
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in chapter 25 comes in.
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Ten virgins
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took their lamps
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and they went out
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to meet the bridegroom.
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Five of them were foolish
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and five were wise.
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The foolish ones
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took their lamps
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but did not take
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any oil with them.
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The wise, however,
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took oil in jars
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along with their lamps.
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Bridegroom was a long time
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in coming
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and they all became drowsy
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and fell asleep.
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So Jesus tells this story.
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There's a wedding.
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No, I can't say
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what I want to say.
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And you hear nothing
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about the bride
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in this wedding.
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It's bridegroom focused.
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It's man-centric.
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It's man-centric.
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The man spends the money.
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The man makes the arrangements.
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I'm a dad
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and I've got
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one married son,
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one unmarried son
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and I've also got
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three unmarried daughters.
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So I like this passage
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because
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I think it's great
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for the man's family
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to bear the cost
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of the marriage
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and I think
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dowries
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are especially
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encouraged
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and
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I know I'm right
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because I talked
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to my boss this morning
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and he totally agrees
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with me.
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So in Jesus' day,
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marriage was like
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this three-stage process.
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You'd get engaged.
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There was engagement,
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there was betrothal
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and then there was marriage
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and the story Jesus tells
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is about the third stage
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where the bridegroom
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returns from his dad's place
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to take his bride.
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He's been building
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and what he's been doing,
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he's been at his dad's house
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building on an additional room
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that he can bring his bride to
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to begin their married life together.
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So he will come
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as soon as the building's completed,
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he will come
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at that moment
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with his entourage
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to get his bride
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and take her to his house
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to consummate the marriage
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and to live in their new home.
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It's a great moment.
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It's a moment
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that they've been anticipating
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together for some time.
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Really interesting,
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Jesus uses similar language
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and imagery
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in John chapter 14
John 14 chapter mention
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when he said,
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in my father's house
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are many rooms
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and I am going there
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to prepare a place for you.
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And he also said,
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I will come back
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and take you to be with me
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that you may be where I am.
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I'm going away,
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there are going to be rooms
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for my followers,
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I will return
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and we will journey
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to the place where I am.
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So these ten young women
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are going to light the way
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for the groom
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when he arrives
-
and they will go with him
-
to the wedding banquet.
-
Five are described as foolish,
-
five are wise,
-
all of them have lamps,
-
the lamps are not the little thing
-
they carry around a house,
-
they're probably long sticks
-
with a rag on the end
-
soaked in oil
-
that creates a blazing light
-
outside as you travel
-
through the night.
-
Five are called wise
-
because they have jars of oil,
-
five are called foolish
-
because they don't.
-
They all look the same
-
while they're waiting,
-
they don't look any different,
-
there's no difference
-
except the oil.
-
The bridegroom's delayed,
-
he takes a long time,
-
he doesn't come as quickly
-
as they had expected him to come,
-
everybody gets the nods
-
and they go to sleep.
-
And it's really interesting
-
because there's no judgment
-
in this passage
-
about them going to sleep,
-
it's not as though
-
going to sleep
-
was a wrong thing
-
for them to do,
-
they all go to sleep.
-
But what Jesus is preparing them for
-
is a delayed return,
-
that's a new thought.
-
It may well be
-
an unexpectedly long time
-
into the future
-
and for people like us
-
we can see that,
-
we can look back,
-
we can say,
-
well it's been 2,000 years already,
-
of course it was going to be
-
a long time into the future.
-
But it doesn't take faith
-
for us to see that,
-
we just look and see.
-
But we do need faith
-
to know that Jesus
-
is still coming.
-
It was probably
-
very difficult
-
for Jesus' disciples
-
to come to terms
-
with a slow return
-
because they just thought
-
it was going to be imminent.
-
You know,
-
this same Jesus
-
that you've seen
-
going to heaven,
-
he's going to return again
-
in the same way
-
that you've seen him
-
going to heaven,
-
said the angel.
-
And they thought
-
it was going to be
-
in their own lifetime.
-
But it shouldn't fill us
-
with a,
-
or lull us
-
into a false sense
-
of security either.
-
One of,
-
when I was in
-
country town
-
in New South Wales
-
ministering,
-
one of my precious
-
90 year old ladies
-
who was full of faith
-
and she'd walked
-
through some hard yards
-
in her life
-
and God had been
-
really gracious with her
-
so I really respected her.
-
but she said to me
-
one day,
-
she said,
-
I don't think
-
Jesus will return yet
-
because I don't think
-
all the prophecies
-
have been fulfilled yet.
-
She was trying
-
to be scriptural
-
but she was limiting
-
God with her theology.
-
And I lovingly
-
disagreed
-
and reminded her
-
that Jesus teaches us
-
to be at the ready.
-
I don't think
-
I changed her mind
-
by the way
-
but we differed
-
and it was okay.
-
And when you think
-
about readiness
-
I think there's two ways
-
of understanding
-
or thinking about readiness.
-
There's a right way
-
and there's a wrong way.
-
So the wrong way
-
is the story
-
I told in my message
-
last week
-
about the deputy principal
-
at Frenchess Forest High School
-
who resigned his job
-
in 1981
-
absolutely convinced
-
that Jesus would return
-
in 1982.
-
I'm not sure
-
what he did
-
after 1982.
-
And I was thinking
-
about this
-
because I thought
-
if I knew Jesus
-
was coming back
-
in four weeks time
-
I'm going to stop
-
putting money
-
into superannuation
-
straight away
-
and I'm going to
-
start spending it.
-
I'm not going
-
to do any work.
-
I said that to Steve
-
this morning.
-
No work.
-
Sorry Deb.
-
You have to do it all.
-
You do it all anyway.
-
That's probably
-
what you're going to say.
-
I'd be with my family
-
and I'd probably
-
be pleading
-
with any members
-
of my family
-
to prepare
-
to meet Christ.
-
That would be
-
important for me
-
just because I know
-
and love the Lord Jesus.
-
But if I was
-
in the country
-
I wouldn't bother
-
planting any more crops.
-
Wouldn't even bother
-
harvesting them
-
because there'd be
-
no one to sell to
-
in four weeks time.
-
People who aren't
-
Christians
-
I think would go
-
into a frantic
-
indulgent panic
-
if they thought
-
it was true
-
if the world
-
was going to end
-
in four weeks time.
-
I think you'd
-
go and load up
-
your credit card
-
knowing that you'd
-
never have any bank fees
-
again never have
-
to pay it back.
-
I think life
-
would be turned
-
on its head.
-
We'd become
-
totally irresponsible
-
and selfish.
-
We'd go out there
-
and live and do
-
whatever we wanted
-
to do without
-
regard to the
-
consequences.
-
The routines
-
of life would be
-
shot to pieces.
-
Nobody would be
-
serving one another.
-
That's the wrong
-
type of readiness
-
and when somebody
-
preaches to us
-
that you've just
-
got to be ever ready
-
as though he's
-
going to walk
-
in the door
-
tonight
-
well yes
-
that's right
-
but no
-
in terms of panic.
-
So what is
-
the right way?
-
Well I think you
-
see it in the
-
remainder of the
-
story.
-
The moment of
-
truth arrives
-
verse 6
-
at midnight
-
the cry rang out
-
here's the bridegroom
-
come out to meet
-
him and all the
-
virgins woke
-
and they trimmed
-
their lamps
-
and the bridegroom's
-
return catches
-
everyone by surprise
-
the wise and the
-
foolish everybody's
-
caught up in the
-
surprise of his
-
return.
-
They all have to
-
wake up to meet
-
him.
-
He turns up in the
-
dead of the night
-
when all the women
-
are asleep.
-
Everyone needs to
-
do the normal
-
things including
-
sleep so it's all
-
right to sleep
-
but now there is a
-
problem because the
-
difference between
-
the two groups
-
becomes immediately
-
obvious with the
-
coming of the
-
groom.
-
Some are ready
-
to meet him
-
and some
-
aren't.
-
And the
-
foolish ones
-
in a panic
-
say to the
-
wives give us
-
some of your
-
oil our lamps
-
are going out.
-
No they replied
-
there mightn't be
-
enough for both
-
of us and you
-
you get down
-
the shop really
-
quickly and go to
-
the cellars of
-
oil wake them
-
up and buy
-
some for
-
yourselves.
-
And while they
-
were on their
-
way to buy
-
some oil the
-
bridegroom arrived
-
the virgins who
-
were ready went
-
in with him to
-
the wedding banquet
-
and the door
-
was shut.
-
it's a hard
-
word and if
-
you're like me
-
you sort of you
-
ask all sorts of
-
questions when you're
-
trying to prepare a
-
message and figure out
-
what's going on here
-
but you know
-
couldn't they have
-
shared?
-
But you've got to
-
look beyond the
-
parable to see that
-
this is a decisive
-
moment of truth.
-
There just isn't
-
enough for everyone.
-
It is the moment
-
when preparedness
-
is going to be
-
seen in a final
-
and an unchangeable
-
way.
-
When Jesus
-
returns it will
-
be too late to
-
decide to get
-
ready.
-
The opportunity
-
will be in the
-
past.
-
You can't rely on
-
another person's
-
preparedness.
-
You might live in
-
a family where
-
one partner knows
-
and loves the
-
Lord Jesus Christ
-
or maybe your
-
mum or your
-
dad do and
-
they are well
-
prepared for the
-
return of Christ.
-
They know him
-
and he knows
-
them.
-
And they don't
-
have to fear the
-
day and on that
-
day you won't be
-
able to say my
-
partner did all the
-
church going for
-
our family.
-
Or don't you see
-
the fine Christian
-
kids that I've
-
raised or my
-
family goes back
-
three or four
-
generations,
-
believers, we've
-
been saying grace
-
for the last
-
hundred years in
-
our family.
-
family.
-
Or the really
-
hard one from a
-
parent point of
-
view is take my
-
faith, take my
-
oil and give it to
-
my children, please
-
save them instead of
-
me.
-
That doesn't work
-
either.
-
We have to answer
-
for ourselves.
-
Do we have any
-
oil?
-
Have we prepared?
-
It's about you and
-
whether you have
-
prepared for that
-
day.
-
Will you go in with
-
the groom or will
-
the door be shut in
-
your face?
-
And I know as I
-
speak tonight that
-
there may be some
-
people here who
-
know that what I'm
-
saying about Christ
-
and his return is
-
true.
-
You also know that
-
you are unprepared to
-
face him.
-
You may know lots of
-
true things about the
-
Bible especially
-
because you hang
-
around churches and
-
churches are a great
-
place to hang around
-
so no discouragement
-
of that.
-
Even if you don't
-
believe this is a
-
wonderful place to
-
be.
-
You may know that
-
Jesus died.
-
You may know that
-
Jesus was raised.
-
You may know that
-
Jesus is king in
-
heaven right now.
-
You may know some
-
great theology and you
-
may have read some
-
great Christian books.
-
But to know about
-
Jesus is different
-
from knowing Jesus
-
and loving Jesus.
-
Need both.
-
people who know and
-
trust the Lord Jesus
-
will be well prepared
-
to meet him when he
-
comes.
-
We don't have to be
-
afraid.
-
He has prepared us for
-
his coming by taking
-
our sin and nailing it
-
to the cross.
-
And we have already
-
entrusted ourselves to
-
him in response to what
-
he has done for us.
-
We will be safe when he
-
returns by the grace of
-
the Lord Jesus Christ.
-
Story goes on and
-
almost comes to a
-
conclusion in verse 11.
-
Others came to him.
-
Sir, sir, they said,
-
open the door.
-
The others, the others,
-
that's the foolish ones,
-
came to him and said,
-
sir, sir, open the door
-
for us.
-
And he replied,
-
I tell you the truth,
-
I don't know you.
-
I don't know you.
-
And then Jesus says,
-
therefore keep watch
-
because you do not know
-
the day or the hour.
-
See, the rejection for
-
the unprepared is
-
dreadfully clear.
-
It's too late.
-
There is no reversal.
-
Rejection is final.
-
And I think at the very
-
heart of this story are
-
the words at the end of
-
the story which are,
-
I don't know you.
-
The wise ones are known
-
by the groom and the
-
foolish ones aren't.
-
I said this morning,
-
nobody invites guests
-
to a wedding whom
-
they don't know.
-
Well, one of our mums
-
contradicted me,
-
but there you go.
-
It's the gardener wedding
-
next week and they've got
-
250 people coming.
-
I don't think they know
-
them all.
-
But take the principle.
-
You don't get invited
-
if you're not known.
-
So being ready for Jesus'
-
coming does not mean
-
frantic panic,
-
really important.
-
It means knowing the
-
Saviour now.
-
It means being on about
-
his business.
-
I'm going to come to that
-
next week.
-
Chapter 24,
-
verse 44 says,
-
you must also be ready
-
because the Son of Man
-
will come at an hour
-
when you do not expect
-
him.
-
Who then is the faithful
-
and wise servant whom
-
the Master has put in
-
charge of the servants in
-
his household to give them
-
the food at the proper
-
time?
-
The Master has given
-
him a job to do.
-
Who's the faithful servant?
-
It will be good for that
-
servant whose Master
-
finds him doing what
-
he's supposed to be doing
-
when he returns.
-
So when Jesus returns,
-
people will see what they
-
are missing out on and
-
they will want it.
-
But it will be too late.
-
When Jesus returns,
-
there won't be anybody
-
having a peek at how good
-
it is and saying,
-
I don't want any of that.
-
We'll all want in.
-
And those who reject
-
Christ now face a future
-
of grieving what they
-
have missed out on.
-
But the call throughout
-
the Bible is to a life
-
of faith now.
-
Faith which has impact
-
on how we live now.
-
Faith which is driving us
-
to want to know Christ
-
now.
-
Faith which leads us to
-
hope in Christ now.
-
Faith which is hungry
-
for the righteousness
-
of Christ now.
-
Faith which leads us
-
to bow our knee to Jesus
-
and to give way to him
-
now.
-
Faith which puts all our
-
hope and trust in Jesus
-
now.
-
It's a verse in Acts,
-
isn't it?
-
Today is the day of
-
salvation.
-
Knowing the groom now
-
is what will keep us
-
safe then.
-
So, and that makes us
-
safe right now,
-
even tonight,
-
to pray,
-
come Lord Jesus
-
come.
-
And we can only pray
-
that safely now
-
because we know
-
that we will be safe
-
then.
-
Amen.
-
that you will take
-
who lives
-
with Christ.
-
You
-
father
-
and
-
how
-
you